


Black Arrow

by NovemberVenom



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: A whole lot of fire, Guns, John Seed eats shit and dies, Oneshot, Plane Fights, Quite Literally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 18:56:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17514107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovemberVenom/pseuds/NovemberVenom
Summary: John Seed is cruel. Too cocky for his own good. He is the dragon which rules Holland Valley, but the Deputy is a black arrow- and when that dragon falls from the skies, it falls fast, it falls hard, and it does not go quietly into the night.





	Black Arrow

**Author's Note:**

> A recreation of the death of Smaug in The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies, but between the Junior Deputy and John Seed. Plus some extra content.
> 
> This work has not been edited and will see edits in the future. Please notify me of any mistakes.

The night blazed bright. It should have been freezing, but it was hot, cruel tongues of flame licking at her ankles. The heat fell in her palms from the weighted metal resting in them, blazed inside her soul. It turned white paint on wood into black charcoal splatters that were dotted with embers like stars in parts that had burst open from the ever-expanding demands of fire. It reached for her greedily, creeping up to the bell tower from the rest of the structure it consumed. It was hungry. It was _furious _.__

__In that church tower, Heather Robinson was the most insignificant thing in the world._ _

__Affirmation's engine roared, bellowing as it dived tauntingly for the roof before careening up again like a swooping magpie. Somewhere there might have been a laugh. Heather wasn't sure._ _

__The last bullet of her rifle's magazine vacated its vented barrel, missing its target and disappearing into the night. Heather doubled back for the table, clammy hands and blinking, stinging eyes searching for another magazine. There was none._ _

__Her radio flared to life when she fell on her knees, pulling her backpack closer. "Like a mouse, she hides in her little hole, running in circles… if only I could just get my claws on that slimy little tail of yours, _deputy _."___ _

____Heather desperately padded the pockets of her pack, contents now splayed out on the floor. Grenades and dynamite had been used up on peggies. She hadn't touched a throwing knife in months, it wasn't like a small blade could do anything to a war-ready aircraft, and anything not immediately useful was therefore not going to be bothered with. Her minutes were numbered._ _ _ _

____Wood splintered at one corner of the bell tower as heavy bullets- bullets built to destroy other planes -burst through a beam. It bent but did not break. Knocking the bow and quiver that had been leaned on the wall to their side. Arrows spilled from the quiver, but their heads kept within the safety of the leather. They dared not look into the booming chaos of that night._ _ _ _

____Heather scrambled for the quiver, yanking one out to examine its tip. Her face scrunched up as she found they were nothing but sharp-tipped, built for quiet combat._ _ _ _

____Explosive arrows could have saved her, if only she'd ever remembered to buy them. Dammit._ _ _ _

____Affirmation announced its closeness once more, sputtering and roaring as it circled to fire again. She was lucky. So lucky that his rockets had been used up in what seemed like eons ago_ _ _ _

____(The impact of rockets, their heat and deafening booms still brought her terror. The adrenaline hadn't stopped pumping since then. But then, she had been in an open space, a field of which made her a perfect target. Now she was a sitting duck. Not any more or any less special._ _ _ _

____Now if only she could tell John, _You are only a man _.)___ _ _ _

______Five arrows. She had Five arrows. Their feathery red tails stared at her, like she was some kind of idiot._ _ _ _ _ _

______That notion was agreed upon, Heather slinging the quiver over her shoulder, her left hand taking up the bow. The nearby rifle was kicked away, hard enough to be sent sliding down the church roof and into inferno._ _ _ _ _ _

______She has not seen her own face in hours. It must have been filthy, coated with dirt, soot, sweat, and blood. Tears too, if her stinging eyes told the truth of how deeply smoke had ingrained itself. She promised herself, as she leaned into the acrid night air from the belltower, that it would be the last face John Seed ever saw._ _ _ _ _ _

______She hated him for the destruction of this place, a church, a holy place that the Seed family swore they stood for and all its righteous glory, yet here it burned to ashes at the hand of the Baptist. The place Grace fought with tooth and nail to protect for the graves it stood over, but the graves now must have crumbled under plane artillery: she could not see them beyond the smoke. She hated him for his cruelty, his unbottled wrath- everything John Seed stood for would find an end by her doing._ _ _ _ _ _

______Where was Grace now? She hadn't heard from her in hours. She couldn't be here. Not now. Not while her second home in hope county burned._ _ _ _ _ _

______" _A bow and arrow? _" John questioned, then laughed, from the crackling radio receiver. " _You're on your last leg. Give in to wrath, deputy. Use everything you've got. _"_ _ _ _ _ _ ____

______As Affirmation swung close she fired her first shot. It bounced uselessly from the plane's back, not even piercing black metal, spinning into the earth below._ _ _ _ _ _

______Four left._ _ _ _ _ _

______“ _Give in to the wrath, let it flow and pulse! Let it burn like the damn church you think is so special! _”_ _ _ _ _ _ __

______This time, Affirmation swung in from the left, tilting its left wing frighteningly close to the bell tower. Its emergence from billowing smoke was wholly unexpected, and Heather had not fully pulled the bowstring up to her cheek. The arrow, weaker than the last, somehow penetrated Affirmation’s tail._ _ _ _ _ _

______Three left._ _ _ _ _ _

______Everything around her roared like one great beast; the inferno below her, climbing higher, Affirmation above her, diving lower with each swoop, the pounding of her heart magnifying every ounce of terror that gripped her trembling limbs. Every second, every breath and noise and change, was a cog in the machine named terror._ _ _ _ _ _

______“ _It’s a shame- you can’t really unleash that wrath. The only fire you have are the flames trying to devour you. You can feel them, can’t you? Right below you, biting your ankles… _”_ _ _ _ _ _ __

______As if John Seed had eyes within the belltower, the planks beneath Heather’s feet cracked and loosened. Their underside must have been aflame. Rotting wood with the life sapped out of it made for perfect kindling. Heather drifted closer to the edge, back against a wall between the belltower’s many open spaces. She would not be setting foot in the middle again, god forbid it collapse, letting the fire take her._ _ _ _ _ _

______She would not die. Not yet._ _ _ _ _ _

______Her radio crackled something distant and alien. It went unheard in the cacophony that was the night._ _ _ _ _ _

______When Affirmation’s engine announced its nearness, Heather leapt from her hiding spot back onto the edge of the belltower. The recurve bow battled her waning strength, but with great effort the arrow’s tail was brought to her cheek._ _ _ _ _ _

______Affirmation was farther now, its back facing the tower, but still she fired. Her heart lurched as the arrow bounced between the plane’s spine and cockpit, falling again into oblivion like its predecessors. In retaliation, bullets spewed from the plane’s wings, spraying over broken and cracked wood once more._ _ _ _ _ _

______Two left, and she hadn’t even gotten anywhere._ _ _ _ _ _

______She wanted to scream. Tears made themselves known somewhere behind her eyes, but she held them back, daring not to let John Seed see them._ _ _ _ _ _

______In front of the church, where its doors faced the road, a conifer tree had been taken by flames. Its base burst like a mistreated pipe, and with its flaming limbs still reaching for the stars, the tree fell to the ground with a burst of sparks. The innards of the tree hissed, screamed as they were ripped apart from the inside out by concentrated heat. Embers hopped from its corpse like hellish crickets into the grass, birthing new patches of fire as they made landfall._ _ _ _ _ _

______If a jump from the tower had ever been considered, it was now no longer an option._ _ _ _ _ _

______She pulled another arrow to her cheek, readying herself for the next attack. Affirmation hummed its fast approach through the smoke that drowned the stars. At last it came in sight, closer, closer, jaws full of fire opening-_ _ _ _ _ _

______It was then that Affirmation’s flaw revealed itself to her. Its windshield was fractured, cracked glass encasing John in the cage of the cockpit. At the fracture’s center was the flaw, a spot that had been blown open by some force in the hours before, jagged glass pointing to John’s heart within the open space as Affirmation’s snout bulleted towards her. Like the pupil of a great transparent eye._ _ _ _ _ _

______Her brow twitched, grip softening. If she could score an arrow there, then maybe, maybe-_ _ _ _ _ _

______Affrimation’s wings erupted. White fury raked across her leg, an oversize bullet grazing her flesh and exploding into the floor behind her. Heather screamed, anchoring herself on the tower’s opening, grip turning hard as iron. As she shifted her bow fell upon her elbow like a great metal bracelet, and the arrow loosely fell from her grip, bouncing from the roof then into the infinite inferno._ _ _ _ _ _

______She hated John, but he was right; she needed wrath now more than ever. Adrenalin. The will to fight. She reached into her quiver for another arrow-_ _ _ _ _ _

______Empty._ _ _ _ _ _

______Goosebumps rose on her arms in midst of the cruel heat. No. She counted right. Where was the fifth?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Her eyes darted around what little space she had left. A chasm had opened up behind her, much of the belltower floor breaking away to reveal the hungry inferno below. The table, however, still stood, the last arrow nearly teetering from the corner._ _ _ _ _ _

______Heather stepped without thought, blood pumping too loudly, fire roaring too loudly for such a thing. Her boot crashed through the floor. Planks broke away to red terror below, but by some luck she latched to the rim of the belltower’s left wall and heaved herself to safety. Her thigh’s fresh wound pulsed with pain that forced her teeth to grind against each other with great force._ _ _ _ _ _

______When she scrambled for the arrow, it nearly fell like the rest, but was caught at the tail by bandaged hands. Arrow tight in her grip, she leapt back to the other side of the tower, repositioned her bow, and prepared._ _ _ _ _ _

______The hours of training and hunting with Jess rushed back to her; the tension of the bowstring. The shock of an arrow’s _shik _as it penetrated flesh. The euphoria of the kill.___ _ _ _ _ _

________Heather’s fist met her cheek. She had one shot at this, one shot to free Holland Valley. One shot to live. An unheralded calmness nested in her heart as her breathing began to slow. She whispered words that no one would ever hear, _Come on, you bastard.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________John Seed must not have seen the last arrow, his ignorance evident with the triumph in his voice. He laughed and jeered like a hyena over the distorted static of the radio, “ _You’ve got nothing left! _” There was a trembling excitement in his voice, the kind reserved for thrilled children when their greatest hopes had finally been met._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

__________Affirmation was in full throttle, swooping from the sky faster and closer than ever before, yet time slowed between the woman and the metal dragon. Stars behind the smoke refused to twinkle, and flames slowed their whipping to a wave like that of wheat fields in the summer. John Seed grinned within his terrible metal weapon. His limbs were locked into place, control of his plane an instinct. His face was not unlike Heather’s, dirtied with sweat and blood and emotion. It was a face that had not shown the true warmth of love in so long, the man it belonged to had almost forgotten what such a thing felt like._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________A little to your left, Heather. A little to your left. _The last arrow lined up seamlessly with Affirmation’s flaw from that little broken belltower.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She released._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The arrow flew to the heavens, humming in the air such an insignificant hum compared to the rumble of Affirmation’s engine-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________And then it hit its target. It slipped through Affirmation’s flaw, plunging into John Seed’s heart._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Heather did not have to share his body to feel its impact. The euphoria of the kill did not have a chance to hit before a shrill shriek split through the radio’s incessant tempo of static. Such a scream should not have come from him, not from animal or man. It was a noise that went beyond being animalistic, dragonic or demonic. It was ghostly. Like a banshee._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It colored the world behind her eyes a soft blue-white, then the world sped up again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Affirmation did not pull up this time, but plunged into the belltower roof. wood crumpled like paper, the tiny roof ripping from its structure as the plane tore through, conjuring the perfect storm of metal, embers, and splinters above Heather’s head. Chaos blinded her, but in its midst she swore the plane’s tail was no more than an inch from her face. This was the impact that shook her. The tower shifted, moaning in pain, howling with flame like Fenris Wolf on the day of Ragnarok, tilting ever so slightly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Still that terrible noise that should not have been human rang out from her radio at such a frequency that she wished to throw it into the flames below. She looked back- the plane had demolished the length of the church’s roof, but was now hidden somewhere in dissonance. John’s screams cut short._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She was alone. Insignificant once more._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Heather looked about wildly for an escape. There was always an escape, in every prepper stash or all other holes in the ground, there was a way in and a way out. But here there was none. All around her was blazing inferno, the menace finally crawling up the tower to devour what remained of it. The roof burned, the trees burned, the ground burned, _everything _burned. She breathed caustic smoke that John had left to remember him by and waited for the last flames born of his wrath to consume her.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Then the Deputy heard the voice of Faith, ringing in her ears with the hated charm of an unwelcome guest_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“ _I can see you. Struggling. Fighting. Don’t fight it. I won’t let it hurt you. _”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Faith’s voice, though unwelcome, was like a cold rag applied to a steaming wound. The fire must have spread out to a bliss field, hidden somewhere near the church. Yet the ecstasy that followed the bliss wherever it grew was not present, nor was the red-green shadows or white sparks. Perhaps those had been overshadowed by fire._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Heather looked out to the ground below. It was a sea of red, as it had been moments ago, or what felt like moments ago. Here, in this church burning as its own pyre, the world outside did not exist._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“ _Take the leap. _”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________She didn’t want to. It was suicide, a trick from Faith, revenge for the death of her brother-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________But what other options did she have?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________She listened. Just like she listened to all those who spoke to her, and did as told with no thought or reward._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Heather felt the structure give beneath her sole when she leapt from it. Blues, greens, reds, and white splotches drifted across her vision, and then the fire suddenly became more white than the furious red it had been._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________When she embraced its heat, it did not burn her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________\---_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“ _Dep? Dep? _”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________It all was a haze, blues and whites. Her head pounded. Her bones ached._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“ _Heather! ...Dep, I swear to god I’m about to send out a fuckin’ search party. Where are you? _”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________She knew that voice, but did not want it to bother her. Not here, not now while she rested. The sun was warm on her cheeks, it was comfortable even with the hurt._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Another grainy voice cut in- “ _Give it here, Rye.... Heather? It’s Grace. I know you’re alive out there, it’s not like you to die on us. Get up. If you can’t, crawl- scream for help if you have to, we just need you here. _”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Grace. Grace Armstrong, at the Lamb of God church. The church. The fire. The bliss._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Heather forced herself up on her elbows, quickly enough to make her head spin and pound harder, blinking rapidly. The sun was agonizing, but dotting the sky was puffy white clouds over blue sky. Morning had long passed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Something shifted in her lap. Heather looked down lazily._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Bliss flowers, fresh from Henbane River, had been delicately placed on her chest, and now rested on her belly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Heather looked around; She had been placed neatly in a patch of grass not far from the road, her legs and arms positioned initially with the meticulousness mortician. Her thigh still hurt like hell when she moved it, and something all about her arms and legs stung. She stopped, however, when her eyes caught a glimpse of the blackened church, barely a ways up the road._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________\--_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“Guys-” Heather did not recognize her own tone of voice. She swallowed, pushing back whatever bile distorted it. “I’m here!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Grace kicked at the smoldering remains of the church, but stopped dead when Heather’s voice called out. She must have looked like a train wreck with how Grace’s eyes widened, how she cursed and dropped her rifle, rushed to the deputy’s side to support her limp. She called out to Nick, who rushed out of the trees to their left, chanting _“Oh my god, oh my god,” _The same way he did when Carmina had returned home.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“I thought you were dead!” Nick gripped her shoulders, brushed off by Grace assuring he did not handle her too roughly. “Where the hell did you come from? Damn, you look like you were in that fire.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“I was. No fucking idea how I got out of it.” Heather pointed a weighted finger back to the road and field of which she came as they walked her through the graveyard. She panted, “I woke up with bliss flowers in my lap.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Shit, really?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Her thigh reminded her of its woe, wound pulsing again. The graze must have been deeper than it first felt. “Yeah, just- fuck, I need a med kit. I lost my pack in the fire.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Grace hummed as she and Nick set Heather down against a tree. She worked through her own backpack, pulling bandages from a smaller pocket. “That’s why we thought you were dead. Nick found your bag in the rubble, and I told him we shouldn't jump to conclusions until we found a skeleton.” She shot a glare to Nick._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Well listen here hotshot, I’m about to be a dad. If you ask me, I think that gives me some authority to go into protective-panic mode quicker.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Grace didn’t respond with more than a grumble._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Nick, with approval from heather, worked her jeans down to attend her wound. He didn’t warn her before applying antiseptic. It stung like the fires that whipped her only hours before, and she yelled out in pain._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Sorry!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________________“It’s fine. Fucking fine.” Heather gritted her teeth, fingers digging into the moist grass, holding a fistful ripped from the ground when they finally relaxed.  
\--  
“There’s a lot to unpack about what happened here last night. Just looking at you, I can tell.” Grace spoke solemnly as she guided Heather, though allowed her to walk on her own. The deputy was stubborn like that. “There’s something over here that I think you’re gonna want to see.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Nick agreed, trudging in the grass behind them. The three of them walked in a crooked line through a patch of woods, Grace leading them. Hope County was home to more than enough forest, but in this corner of Holland Valley the woods very often refused to stay consistent between roads and fields. It was still as beautiful as other patches, however, sunlight dapples between tree limb shadows displayed over rocks, sticks, and grass making for a serene habitat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“There’s a lot that happened.” Heather agreed. “All of this would make a pretty good biography one day, I think.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Maybe. It depends on what people are willing to see and hear anymore. Back before this shit went down, I know I was having enough with the violence. I just wanted to put my nose in a book and not listen to the news ever again, things were so terrible, but look where that’s gotten us. I’m a lucky one. I was prepared to see the violence and bloodshed, back in Afghanistan.” Grace offered her hand to Heather, helping her over a small ledge. “Seem like you’re a lucky one, too. What you’re about to see is the kind of shit you need to be ready for. Come on.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Grace turned her around. Then was when heather saw it, and gasped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Affirmation, now black with soot, was wedged between two large pines. The pines themselves had caught fire as well, but somehow stood tall through the flames, their charred bones displaying the hollow shell of the dragon that had rained fire upon Hope County like servants carried the throne of a king. There John Seed hung from his scorched plane by the frayed ropes of a parachute that failed to deploy, swaying lightly in the breeze like a dead insect that had not been strong enough to escape the spider’s web. His arms hung down with his downward-facing eyes, still bright with ice blue as if he had never died, giving the impression of a preacher who sang for the glory of the ground below rather than the heavens above. Still in his chest was the arrow that struck him down._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________A silver key still hung from his neck, tarnished from heat. None of them dared to take a step closer, as if John was to come back to life and strangle them if they came within his reach._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“...I can shoot it off him, if you-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“No, No,” The deputy took a step forward. With bated breath she approached the fresh corpse of the Seed Family’s little brother, hand absentmindedly reaching for the holster of a gun that was not present on her hips._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________She thought she would have to cut it off him, but effortlessly it slid from his neck. Heather jumped away as soon as it was in her grasp, still prepared to fight. Low on her knees she backed away, returning to the other two._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________They stood in a line of three waiting for something to happen. Nothing did._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Nick coughed briefly before nervously speaking out. “I think he deserves this, after all the shit he’s pulled.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“No one deserves this.” Grace’s tone was flat, certain. Correct. No one objected. No one could object when those baby blue eyes still swam with lost innocence like a cheap bowl with a doomed goldfish within it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________It was the only funeral John Seed would ever have._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Come on,” Nick turned back the way they came. “Let’s get out of here.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________The other two followed wordlessly. Heather leaned on Grace for support once more, despite her prior objections._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
